Why Was AJ Styles Not on SmackDown Despite Being Listed for SmackDown Appearance?

Friday Night SmackDown was a power-packed one at the Nationwide Arena in Columbus, Ohio. The best part of the night was LA Knight destroying Grayson Waller with the mic. Not just that, he also defeated Waller in a match later on. But as all this excitement continued, fans were eagerly waiting for the return of the ‘The Phenomenal One’ AJ Styles to SmackDown.

Sadly, as the show got over, the likelihood of Styles making an appearance waned. But here is the reason why Styles’ return has been pushed to next week’s SmackDown.

Solo Sikoa will be making a return to SmackDown next week

Just to bring you up to speed, back in September, AJ Styles and Cena were involved in a heated feud with Jimmy Uso and Solo Sikoa. But right before the contract signing for their match at Fastlane, AJ Styles was viciously attacked by Jimmy Uso and Solo Sikoa.

This led to AJ Styles being rushed to the hospital immediately. Post that he has not seen on SmackDown, despite a slated appearance. The promotion had earlier publicized that AJ Styles would be returning to Friday Night SmackDown. But some last-minute changes in programming have pushed back Styles’ return to next week.

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The same was also confirmed by PWInsider. They stated, “While the original plan was for AJ Styles to return this week, we have heard that may have been pushed back. We are working on confirming”. Solo Sikoa would be returning to SmackDown next week after registering the biggest win of his career against John Cena at Crown Jewel. It must also be noted that Sikoa was the one who decimated Styles with a splash from a staggering height of 15 feet. So if Styles has to exact revenge for his injury, it would only be apt that he makes a return to SmackDown when The Enforcer is also present.

Also, there is an exciting match slated for next week’s SmackDown and AJ Styles will definitely want to be part of that action.

LA Knight will be facing Jimmy Uso on next week’s SmackDown

Although Solo Sikoa was the main person behind AJ Styles’ beating back in September, Styles still has a bone to pick with Jimmy Uso, who was part of the dastardly ambush. It has been announced that Jimmy Uso will be facing LA Knight on SmackDown next week.

And as always, Solo Sikoa might pop up to assist his brother during the match. And that’s exactly what Styles is planning to foil. Apart from that, he may also be planning to lay waste to both the members of The Bloodline for putting him out of action for almost 2 months.

Also, Styles teaming up with Knight might be the perfect setup for Survivor Series War Games on 25th November. We will only have to wait and watch to see how all of this unfolds. But it seems like the most likely reason for Styles’ appearance being pushed is to coincide it with Sikoa, who is turning out to become a major rival for The OC leader.

With the hype building, how do you think the confrontation between Sikoa and Knight will turn out? Will Sikoa retain his reign of terror, or will Styles get his revenge?

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